Facebook and EssilorLuxottica to make smart glasses

Facebook’s Mark Bosworth

Facebook and EssilorLuxottica have today announced a multiyear collaboration to develop the next generation of smart glasses.

The announcement was made by Mark Zuckerberg during Facebook Connect, an annual conference held virtually from California.

The partnership will combine Facebook apps and technologies, Luxottica’s category leadership and iconic brands, and Essilor’s advanced lens technology to help people stay better connected to their friends and family, it was stated in a joint press release.

The first product will be branded Ray-Ban, and is scheduled to launch in 2021.

Andrew Bosworth, vice president of Facebook Reality Labs, commented: “We’re passionate about exploring devices that can give people better ways to connect with those closest to them. Wearables have the potential to do that. With EssilorLuxottica we have an equally ambitious partner who’ll lend their expertise and world-class brand catalogue to the first truly fashionable smart glasses.”

Rocco Basilico, chief wearables officer at Luxottica, added: “We are especially proud of our collaboration with Facebook, which projects an iconic brand like Ray-Ban into an increasingly digital and social future. Combining a brand that is loved and worn by millions of consumers around the globe with technology that has brought the world closer together, we can reset expectations around wearables. We are paving the way for a new generation of products destined to change the way we look at the world.”

Product name, specifications, software capabilities, pricing and other details will be shared closer to launch in 2021.